Egypt's gay community "homophobic"

New study reveals that gays in Egypt exist, but hate each other.

A controversial study conducted by the DUC (Dokora University in Cairo) has revealed that Egypt’s underground gay community suffers from homophobia.

The study has also confirmed that, despite government figures, there may be more than 15 homosexuals in Egypt, and even more outside of prisons.

However, lead researcher Mido Libeedo said that due to strong cultural conditioning, even gays in Egypt could not help having a fear and intense dislike of gays.

“There’s just something so gay about gay people,” said closet gay man Amoor Kiko. He bumped the tips of his two index fingers together while shaking his head in disapproval. “It just doesn’t work,” he said.

Mr. Kiko’s boyfriend, who’s officially only his “anteem,” said that it’s one thing for them to cuddle while watching Titanic together, but another thing completely to give in to their repressed desires. “That would just be gay,” he said, disgusted.

“In effect, this shows that Egypt’s gay community is composed of homophobic homos,” Libeedo explained.

Other gay Egyptians interviewed in the study insisted that they were not gay so long as they were never on the receiving end.

“I must have ‘da2eit’ 30 men in my life time,” said Howana Baddibas to EKT, “that’s how macho I am.”

Baddibas proudly claims that no one has ever approached his backside during any of his escapades. “Are you crazy? Do you think like, I’m gay or what?” he retorted when EKT questioned him on the matter.

“I mean, ya3333,” he added.

One of the study’s recommendations to help Egyptian gays accept their identity, was the employment of a more precise use of the slang term for gay – “fag”, or Kha&%$ in Arabic.*

Currently, the word is the 2nd most used in the Egyptian Arabic language (after “vagina” and “mother”, which are tied at 1st place), and is often used to refer to anyone from individuals with low IQs, to vegetarians, left-handed men, lisp speakers, and men who refuse to kiss other men on the cheeks.

“Now, those are the real fags,” said Baddibas while absent-mindedly jiggling the earlobe of one of EKT’s male correspondents.

For the Egyptian government, the Minister of Sexual Deviance, Balash Sha2awa, has agreed that the public definition of “fag” needs to be more precise, but has also proposed that anti-Mubarak campaigners should be included in whatever new definition the term takes on.

Sha2awa argued that “nothing is more gay than people who refuse to bend over to the current regime.” He added that “people who constantly whine about poor living conditions and manly, authoritarian governments are totally homo.”

Using a mocking, effeminate voice, Sha2awa made fun of demonstrators: “‘Ohh, I want better health care. Ohh, I want fair elections. Ohh, I want a decent minimum wage …’" He concluded: "Ya3ni if that’s not gay, I don’t know what is.”

*Please note that EKT has censored the term “kha&%$,” as most Egyptian find the use of “khawal” in a formal context to be offensive.

*Please also note that female gays were not investigated in the study, as the (all-male/dokora) research group suffered from distracting arousals whenever interviews with lesbians were attempted.

Abna2na fil Kharig

Mon, 05/10/2010 - 17:01

lol chapeau 3ala tackling yet another taboo in the life of the Egybshanz! Beware of the real homophobes though, and let's hope the real gays aren't offended by "There’s just something so gay about gay people" :)

P.S. alf shokr also for enlarging my 3ammiyya vocab by "da2eit" and "dokora"

Ramy

Tue, 05/11/2010 - 10:17

If the main goal of this article is making fun then... yes, it is funny, though you kind of can't help feeling the inappropriate choice of the topic and especially in that wrong time.
What is described above isn't typical homophobia: it is a phenomenon in all countries with oppressed gay rights and not unique to Egypt.
Several explanations do exist; culture is one of them of course, traditions as well, religion; hmm maybe and socio-economics.
though it is almost impossible to make sure by adequate statistics; large quantity of Egyptian men who have sex with men are actually bisexual who found out somehow that having sex with a man is much safer and cheaper alternative to using the services of a prostitute until they get married.
Those men can be heavy with guilts and refrain from kissing or showing affection, their opinions on the other hand; are most disturbed.
Those included in the act think that attacking everything gay - in their point of view - can restore their lost "innocence"
Refusing to bottom is a cultural thing as well. while topping a man is something to be proud of even if you are caught in the act... so much focusing on the superficial physical form of the relationship.

What you reported here - in a funny accent - is just DENIAL... Homophobia means to hate and conspire to inflict harm on Homosexual individuals.

the only solution lies in education of course. and education can only thrive and flourish in a free environment and here, the gay case joins hundreds of other causes waiting for a democratic transition of the republic.

Concerned Expatriate

Sat, 05/15/2010 - 00:29

I agree with Minister the of Sexual Deviance, Balash Sha2awa as fags complain about everything and want everything from the government but refuse to perform a honest day's work like picking up a simple bar of soap from the prison washroom floor.

Ezz

Thu, 05/20/2010 - 00:33

i kinda think this topic refers to the new trend of egyptian guys walking down the street holding hands or "engage" (one guy's arm wraped around the others elbow... and the male-male greeting kiss.. that are internationally renowned as gay actions while in Egypt its very common, which could either mean that a large portion of the public is secretly gay (so secret that they themselves dont even know it :D) ... or it could mean that the egyptian public is soo ignorant to the existence of homosexuality that they act "on such good faith" (3ala neyyat-hom) without fearing the accusation of being gay

Daniel

Amazing reading! Thanks! You just stated all what I had to go through dating Egyptian gay men! They are not 'gay', their boyfriend (myself here), however, is the gay one :).

Anonymous

Tue, 05/25/2010 - 07:55

every time I read an article that I laugh my ass off on, I do the same mistake and read the comments!
you people are lame as FUck!
have some sense of humor and save us the ill-informed crap

notgayAnonymous

Fri, 05/28/2010 - 09:04

@Anonymous

I notice that you have used the gay American spelling of the word 'humour'

Anon

Mon, 06/07/2010 - 23:14

I've always wondered why are anti-gays labelled homophobic

I definitely don't fear gays, I despise them

anyway if there are really any gays in Egypt they would be very few individuals hiding in the dark like rats and should remain this way
we do not want an infestation

L

Wed, 06/16/2010 - 22:17

@ Anon

Well I know that this will sound shocking but Egypt does indeed have a gay scene/ community, quite a big one in fact.
Unfortunately gay people have to hide their true identity because of people such as yourself and 'subar sublex'; for your intolerant ignorance is widespread in our community.

As witty as you might think your comment sounds, it doesn't.

Lesson # one for the ignorant homophobes, a Phobia doesn't necessarily mean a fear of something it also means the aversion or the strong dislike of something or someone.
Hence the calling of b****es like you homophobes!!

I think people like you shouldn't have any children, we have enough of your kind, but in your case I hope you have gay one... Then we will see how you feel about homosexuality.

Farouk

Anonymous

Anonymous

Mon, 07/12/2010 - 18:58

Haha. I agree with this guy /\

Anonymousanti

Thu, 07/22/2010 - 14:06

well i agree with super sublex that somehow gay ppl brake the natures law, as sex is thought for humans reproduction! Have u ever seen gay animals ? I still didnt hear of a gay horse or elephant ! Well i live in germany and gay ppl are normal here, but as long as they keep their hands off me i have no problem dealing with them !

Good work keep it up

soraya

Tue, 07/27/2010 - 16:18

@Farouk and all anti-gays: chill guys, they exist and they have the right to. U might be against them, but try to be tolerant, because your hatred is not gonna change anything.
Maybe you should think about a more meaningful hobby to put your (hopefully positive) energy into. You have the choice between being hate-filled (which will not hurt anyone but yourselves) or being patient and trying to become a little more tolerant with time. Good luck.

denizo222

Thu, 09/16/2010 - 17:03

What's hilarious is that many of you anonymous commenters don't know that Egypt is famous for homosexuality in both the Arab world and internationally. Every day in your country, millions of guys are in alleyways and houses s*cking and f*cking, 24 hours a day.

As for the profoundly stupid commenter who mentioned that "there are no gay animals," guess again. Every single mammal has recorded cases of homosexuality, as do most birds. Fail.

All you who claim that "sex is for reproduction" must've never gotten a bl*w job... seriously, a bunch of closeted gay virgins ranting about how much they hate gay people, you're just proving the point of the article. Congrats on living in the gayest Arab country in the world! You've earned it.

(PS: kudos for the mention of "men who refuse to kiss other men on the cheeks" as f*gs, that is absolutely hysterical!!! LOVE it)

Berg

Sat, 10/09/2010 - 04:53

Ya, ya, Whatever!

Those ignorant bustards! Sorry,let me rephrase that politely, those poorly educated highly discriminated people. They couldn't even accept mocking of Gays and their situation in Egypt. Yes, that is Homophobia, extreme hate of Gays.
Well, why? Let me find a proper reason?
Islam, maybe! Are you sure? As being a Muslim and gay, I know what is punishable in Islam is that 4 people should witness me doing the act and they SHOULD say that same thing when questioned separately, this also applies for adultery. If I am Queer in the street or very flamboyant, it is not against my beliefs. Ya, ya, shut up! I know that the prophet (PBUH) said that ALlah - subhanahu wa ta'ala- cursed men dressing like women and women dressing like men. However, he didn't say anything about pushing them.
My dears imbeciles, it is against YOUR NORM ONLY and what you regard as normal. Can't imagine, that guy bragging about living in Germany and never saw a commercial or heard stories about "Homosexual animals and birds".
You keep on building walls around yourself, thinking you are ideal and stoning everyone else. This is not a life and one day the wall you are hiding behind, will fall on your head.

Finally, to wrap things up, Here are facts which are in your face. Scientists approves there is about 10% of any population with the so called abnormal sexual behaviour. So, that means count 10 family members and most probably one of them MUST be GAY or LESBIAN. Oh yes, being Lesbian is erotic. Let me go with you till the end of the line, imagine their is only 1% gays in Egypt, from the 80 million. It means 800,000 person is Gay in Egypt. Okay, why not kill us or create a virus to kill us all. It could not happen. Why?
Egypt's main source of income is tourism and sexual tourism is a well renown. Getting rid of us means the whole world would stand up against your beloved Egypt and tourism would stop leading to a crumbling economy and hunger. Then, you will learn to live and care for yourself rather than sitting and enjoying criticizing everyone for not being another copy of you.
Just for the record, during the Mamluks the slave market in Cairo had a massive sections for the Flamboyant slaves who were highly priced, which made women dress like men to please their husbands. Enjoy! I mean, eat yourself!

Anonymous

Sun, 11/07/2010 - 13:04

Lovely! Wonderful! Keep them coming El Koshary! You just make my day :)))

nobbary@yahoo.dk

Mon, 11/08/2010 - 21:44

@Berg...well said and good luck 2U.

I've been to Cairo 17 times in 5 years.Going again in a few months.I never really considered myself as a "sexual tourist"yet if my numerous encounters label me as such,then that is what I am.Somehow I just dont think my lover Mustafa would agree to the "commodity label".Its much more poignant than that.

Great article!
Confirms a lot of my observations. No problem to have sex with a men in Egypt (unmarried men especially). Big problem to talk about it. Nobody is gay here until they are passive. Kissing with men, walking with men, dancing with men (all considered "gay" in western culture) are all ok here. The problem is the "bottom factor". And this is culture not religion. A culture dominated by men and masculinity. That is why being passive/not masculine is condemned here. As a lot of homophobes turn out to be gay themselves it seems that Egypt has a big number of homosexuals who hate homosexuality. No wonder since the society allows sex with woman only in the marriage. Do not tell me that all this hot guys are virgin until they reach 30 or 35 and make enough money to get married ;) So if the women are not available what do they do?
Egypt needs a revolution. Also in mentality. Mubarak is not responsible for all the worst in this country. But for this people should be able to speak the truth. Also about their sexuality. And be not afraid that for the truth they will be killed or attacked.
PS most of the men I met here that identify themselves as gay can not even think of coming out. And they want to leave the country. So as revolution proclaimed "Freedom for everybody" just keep it for EVERYBODY. As the quality of democracy is measured by how the majority treats it's minorities.
GOOD LUCK EGYPT!

LiberatedM

Sat, 05/07/2011 - 11:19

hah That's hilarious
Farouk >> you should visit a psychiatrist,your so sick dude.
I'd say a gay opinion about gays wud be refusing them to get their rights, their normal or abnormal rights... but Farouk , ur opinion is way further than being called extremist :S , please see a dr. as soon as u can :)

A

Wed, 04/18/2012 - 12:23

"Please also note that female gays were not investigated in the study, as the (all-male/dokora) research group suffered from distracting arousals whenever interviews with lesbians were attempted."

LOL- one of the reasons why we are barely heard of in this country. Too sexy for your study, tab3an.

Regardless how seriously frustrating many of things in the article truly are, you guys managed to make it humorous, loved it.

Anonymous

Tue, 06/19/2012 - 16:58

To the guy claiming there are no "gay animal couples", how about you inform yourself about basic biology a bit more honey? You'd be surprised how "perverted" most animals are: gay rape between male cats - tick. Male dolphins fucking another male dolphin's blowhole - tick. Two male penguins raising an abandoned baby penguin together - tick. Female bonobos (apes who share almost 99% of DNA with us humans, darling) rubbing each others' genitals purely for pleasure and bonding with each other - tick. There are quite a lot of bird species too who have all sorts of same-sex relationships, both sexual and non-sexual (e.g. raising abandoned offspring together).

Yeah, so better read up on your knowledge of the animal kingdom. And no, I am not gay myself, but I don't care one bit if someone else is because I know that it is a natural, normal occurance and God surely knows what he is doing better than some ignorant fuckwits on Earth trying to "preach his will".

Nrenaud

Sun, 12/23/2012 - 15:17

I Love you ! :D

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